MWC clash gives Aztecs’ Gay chance at limelight

SAN DIEGO -- The biggest basketball game in Mountain West Conference history (Part II) is today at Viejas Arena. There will be a sold-out crowd of more than 12,000 and a national TV audience on CBS and some of the country's most creative students, many of whom camped out for days to purchase tickets.

There will be a gecko and a banana and young men dressed as Mormon missionaries, bike helmets and all. They will hold signs and sing songs and offer chants ranging from hilarious to extreme.

Yep. It will be a scene.

"It doesn't even sound like reality," San Diego State's D.J. Gay said. "If you would have asked me my freshman year if it was going to be like this, I probably would have just laughed, like, 'Yeah, right.'

"To come as far as we have as a program, a team, a community and as a school. ... The nation is going to get a chance to see what San Diego is all about."

On the court today when the Aztecs (27-1) host Brigham Young (26-2) in a matchup of Top-10 teams, a senior point guard with first-team all-conference talent will lead his side as he has all season, playing nearly every second, directing nearly every possession, calming nearly every nerve in times of stress, ready to take any big shot needed to assure victory.

What might surprise you: His first name isn't Jimmer.

Jimmer Fredette has all of the above qualities and more for No. 7 BYU, but there is a good chance this second meeting between the Cougars and No. 6 San Diego State will fall more on another to dictate. Fredette will get his. He always does.

But there isn't a player more responsible for San Diego State's rise to national prominence this season than Gay, who while standing just 6 feet tall has risen above one of the nation's best frontcourts and all its athleticism and skill to be the player the Aztecs count on most.

There are countless reasons to believe San Diego State will get its first NCAA Tournament victory in school history and perhaps more next month, among them a starting five that includes three seniors and a team that rebounds and defends better than most.

But nothing spells March success better than great point guard play. Gay will provide it, assuming he can still walk.

He ranked second among conference players in minutes last season and is second again this year, averaging almost 37 a game. For the first time in his career, Gay recently requested time off from practice.

There are more subplots to today's game than San Diego has grains of sand, but one is obvious: As terrific as Gay has been -- he averages 12.1 points and has 97 assists to 32 turnovers -- one of his poorest outings came against Fredette in San Diego State's loss.

In 37 minutes, Gay shot 0-for-7 from the field while Fredette was scoring 43 points and BYU was winning 71-58 in Provo, Utah.

The Aztecs have since gone 7-0, and included was a stretch of 177 minutes during which Gay didn't have a turnover. In times of exhaustion since that defeat, his play has been exemplary.

"He plays pretty much 40 minutes a night, goes out and guards the other team's best perimeter player full court and still makes big shots late in games," Texas Christian coach Jim Christian said. "That is unbelievably impressive because it shows his mental toughness, his physical toughness, his conditioning. Sometimes, that gets underrated when you have so many great players on one team.

"D.J. Gay has not been written about enough. What he has done, to me, is really incredible."

Coach Steve Fisher remembers telling those worried fans at San Diego State not to fret once Richie Williams finished his career in 2009, that while the point guard-in-waiting might not be as flashy, he would offer a steady, reliable hand. The coach was correct beyond a level even he imagined.

The Aztecs have never played a more important regular-season game than the one that tips at 11 a.m. today, and the Mountain West has never offered a bigger one.

The place will be bonkers. Students will hold signs reading things such as, "Mrs. Rose Is The Only Cougar I Like," in reference to BYU coach Dave Rose's other half. Fredette will get his, and the winner will take an enormous step toward a league title and perhaps a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed.

And a senior point guard will play a huge part in which side walks away smiling.

D.J. Gay presents San Diego State basketball to the nation today.

The Aztecs couldn't be in better hands.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday and Thursday on "Monsters of the Midday," Fox Sports Radio 920 AM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.